Terrific Torres on top of the world

Fernando Torres described himself as the "happiest player in the world" after scoring for Liverpool FC and helping them to a 4-0 win over his nemesis team, Real Madrid CF, to send the Reds through to the last eight of the UEFA Champions League.

Derby drought 
Torres joined Liverpool after seven seasons at Club Atlético de Madrid, though he never managed to beat his former derby rivals and had only found the net once before in ten matches against Los Merengues. His delight was evident after tasting victory against Madrid at the eleventh attempt. The Spain forward stabbed home the opener at Anfield from close range in the 16th minute, before two Steven Gerrard strikes either side of the break – the first a penalty – and Andrea Dossena's late fourth goal fired Liverpool into the quarter-finals with a 5-0 aggregate win.

'Fantastic keeper'
Only the brilliance of goalkeeper Iker Casillas spared Madrid further embarrassment. "They have a fantastic keeper, one of the best in the world," Torres said of his international team-mate. "Every game I play against him he is brilliant and Real Madrid's best player tonight was Casillas. Stevie [Gerrard] made me the happiest player in the world. It was a fantastic game for him."

High tempo
Liverpool's electrifying start to the second leg, combined with the legendary passion of their supporters, appeared to stun Madrid. "I'm very proud of the performance of the team and the fans," Torres said. "Tonight is a big night for Liverpool. We showed them that this is Anfield. We knew the atmosphere would be really amazing but it was even better than we thought before. With the first goal, they [Madrid] knew it would be very difficult to score two against Liverpool and after the penalty it finished the game. The plan was to play with intensity and a high tempo because Spanish football is slower than in England."

Ankle worry
Torres was something of a surprise starter after only taking part in a few training sessions following the ankle injury he sustained in the first leg on 25 February at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. He lasted 84 minutes before being replaced by Dossena, who wrapped up the scoring two minutes from time. The ankle is still sore and Torres, 24, admitted: "In the second half it was feeling a little bit painful, but it doesn't matter on a night like this. The pain is not important. We will work from tomorrow until the [Manchester United FC] game [on Saturday] and hopefully I will be fit."